Some of the terrorists are believed to have crossed into Europe from Syria with waves of refugees fleeing the Middle East. The attacks prompted Gov. Rick Scott and a number of other GOP governors to call for a halt to Syrian refugee resettlements in their states, though they were not heeded by the Obama administration.

“I appreciate ... some of your efforts,” Pelham wrote. “But how can you say you’re trying to keep each of us safe when you’ve opened Tallahassee up to refugees from Syria and Iraq? ISIS has openly said they will smuggle in terrorists with these refugees and it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to vet them, as the CIA director testified to.”

Randy Pelham(Photo: Courtesy Pelham Law Firm)

Pelham, a former Miami cop whose wife and in-laws immigrated legally to the U.S. from violence-plagued Honduras, said he sympathizes with refugees from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. But he said he feels less safe than he used to. He let his concealed firearm permit expire years ago, but he recently renewed it and carries a pistol with him at all times.

“When you see stuff that’s happening around the world — France, Sweden, Germany, all these places — and the few times in America — the Orlando night club — it makes you look twice,” he said. “I wish I didn’t have to feel like that.”

Worries only intensified after last year’s massacre at the Pulse nightclub, even though the attack was carried out by a man who was born in the United States to Afghan parents. The shooter, who swore allegiance to ISIS during the attack, went to the same high school in Martin County where Rep. Gayle Harrell’s children attended.

Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.(Photo: Florida House)

“When you have someone who has committed a horrendous act of terror, who actually was from the community and lived in our community, it brings it very close to home,” said Harrell, R-Stuart. “When you have people coming into the country through the immigration program, through the refugee program in particular, from countries where the refugees cannot be well-vetted, it really makes it very difficult for people to not be afraid.”

Harrell and other Republicans backed a House bill (HB 427) that would have seen Florida leave the federal refugee resettlement program, as several other states have done. They cited a lack of coordination between the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the feds on refugee security screenings.

The bill, which appeared dead in the final days of the session, wouldn’t have stopped refugees from coming to Florida. The federal government, not states, cities or mayors, decides which refugees come to America and where they are placed.

Refugees go through a long security screening process that’s the most stringent for any visitor to the U.S., with Syrians subjected to enhanced checks. But skeptics say it’s impossible to thoroughly vet refugees from countries with little or questionable documentation.

Mark Glass, FDLE’s director of statewide intelligence, warned lawmakers earlier this year that countries in crisis can’t control their official documents, raising the specter of false papers and identity theft. He also said the federal government doesn’t give the state questions or answers from refugee interviews, which would help FDLE “connect the dots” in terrorism probes.

Incidents involving refugees rare

Advocates note that few domestic terror-related incidents have actually been connected to refugees.

The Boston Marathon bombers, brothers born in Russia and Kyrgyzstan, weren’t refugees, as reported in the aftermath of the attack, and therefore didn’t go through lengthy overseas vetting. They sought asylum only after traveling to the U.S. on visas.

Mark Schlakman, senior program director for the Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights.(Photo: FSU)

But he said such concerns have been largely overstated and key facts and terms conflated. Many people seeking asylum in Europe, for example, show up without having been screened first. Only a fraction of the world’s refugee population gets resettled, and refugees generally don’t pick their destination country.

He said that by not admitting refugees, the U.S. would arguably further empower regimes that don’t respect or protect human rights.

“Should we simply ignore our responsibilities under international and federal law regarding the global refugee protection system to provide safe haven to the world’s most vulnerable people due to our own fears?" Schlakman asked. “I’m not suggesting that we dismiss legitimate security concerns, rather that we challenge the underlying narratives and attempt to address these concerns in a reasonable, effective and credible way.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

About this project: President Donald Trump’s January executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program for four months and barring Syrian refugees entirely brought scrutiny to resettlement programs and prompted the Tallahassee Democrat to ask: How many refugees live in the capital city? Where are they from? Who are they?

“American Strangers” provides the answers. The report is anchored by an interactive database created by Democrat producer Yoon Pyun, and brought to life by staff writers Jeff Burlew and Nada Hassanein, who spent months getting to know local refugee families and those helping them build new lives.